Echinacea plant named ‘Glowing Dream’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct  Echinacea  plant named ‘Glowing Dream’ characterized by an amazing number of inflorescences starting in the first season, very long bloom time with excellent rebloom, a very compact habit, deep coral pink ray florets surrounding dark cones, numerous, strong dark stems, and excellent vigor.

Botanical denomination: Echinacea spp.

Variety designation: ‘Glowing Dream’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea and given the cultivar name ‘Glowing Dream’. Echinacea is in the family Asteraceae. The new cultivar is part of a planned breeding program for a landscape series with compact habits and profuse inflorescences. The exact parents of this selection are unknown, unnamed, proprietary interspecific hybrids of Echinacea paradoxa, Echinacea purpurea, and Echinacea tennesseensis. This cultivar was selected for its glowing coral pink flowers.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Raspberry Tart’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,933), the new cultivar has ray florets, more basal crowns, and is much longer blooming.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Amazing Dream’ (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/931,221), the new cultivar has coral pink rather than deep pink ray florets.

This new Echinacea cultivar is uniquely distinguished by:

-   -   1. an amazing number of inflorescences starting in the first         season,     -   2. very long bloom time with excellent rebloom,     -   3. very compact habit,     -   4. deep coral pink ray florets surrounding dark cones,     -   5. numerous, strong dark stems, and     -   6. excellent vigor.

This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (division and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by division and tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques with terminal and lateral shoots, as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows the inflorescences and habit of Echinacea ‘Glowing Dream’ as a two-year-old growing in the garden in full sun in mid-July in Canby, Oreg.

DETAILED PLANT DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of the new Echinacea cultivar based on observations of two-year-old specimens growing in the garden in full sun in Canby, Oreg. Canby is in Zone 8 on the USDA Hardiness map. Temperatures range from a high of 95 degrees F. in August to an average of 32 degrees F. in January. Normal rainfall in Canby is 42.8 inches per year in the trial fields in Canby, Oreg. The color descriptions are all based on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 5^(th) edition.

-   Plant:     -   -   Type.—Herbaceous perennial.         -   Hardiness.—USDA Zones 4 to 9.         -   Size.—Grows to about 35 cm wide and 40 cm tall to top of             inflorescences.         -   Form.—Basal clump, with about 30 stems from the base.         -   Vigor.—Excellent.         -   Roots.—Fibrous, with many downward growing and few laterals,             ivory in color, Yellow White 158D, roots develop easily from             cuttings from the crown. -   Stem (flowering):     -   -   Type.—Ascending, with 1 to 2 inflorescences per stem.         -   Size.—To 37 cm tall to a terminal inflorescence and 6.5 mm             wide at base.         -   Internode length.—2 cm to 5 cm.         -   Surface texture.—Strigose.         -   Color.—Yellow Green 145A at the base blending to Brown 200C             near flower. -   Leaf:     -   -   Type.—Simple.         -   Shape.—Lanceolate.         -   Arrangement.—Alternate.         -   Blade size.—Grows to 11 cm long and 2.9 cm wide.         -   Margins.—Entire.         -   Apex.—Acuminate.         -   Base.—Attenuate.         -   Surface texture.—Strigose on both sides.         -   Venation.—Pinnate, Yellow Green 145B on both sides.         -   Color.—Topside Green 137A, bottom side Green 137B.         -   Petiole description.—On lowermost leaves only, clasping,             grows to 9.5 cm long and 3 mm wide, scabrous, narrow leafy             edges which fold upwards, Yellow Green 145B on both sides             except leafy edges, Green 137B. -   Inflorescence:     -   -   Type.—Composite on terminal stalked heads.         -   Number of flowering stems from the ground.—About 30.         -   Flowering stem.—Grows to 37 cm tall from the base of the             plant to the terminal inflorescence and can grow to 13.5 cm             long from the top stem leaf to the base of an inflorescence;             unbranched to branched, with 1 to 2 inflorescences per stem;             diameter growing to 9 mm wide near the inflorescence;             strigose; Yellow Green 145A at the base blending to Brown             200C near flower.         -   Size.—Grows to 8.5 cm wide and 4 cm deep as disc enlarges.         -   Form.—Ray florets held slightly reflexed, mature disc is             conic.         -   Immature inflorescence.—Grows to 2.5 cm wide and 2.5 cm             deep, ray florets held upright at 10 degrees from the             vertical and rolled up so only the back color shows, Greyed             Purple 186A, disc color Greyed Purple 187A.         -   Ray florets.—Without pistil or stamen, about 20, grow to 4             mm long and 10 mm wide, elliptic to oblanceolate with the             tip two to three-toothed (each acute), entire margins, base             attenuate, glabrous on both sides; topside between Red             Purple 53A and Red 53A; bottom side Red Purple 59C, old             flowers topside Red Purple 58A bottom side Red Purple 59C.         -   Disc.—Flat becoming conic, becoming 32 mm deep and 29 mm             wide with maturity, Greyed Purple 187A in background with             bracts Orange 25A.         -   Disc florets.—About 400 in number, each with 1 pistil and 4             stamen, grow to 11 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, each with one             persistent, very stiff linear bract (12 mm long with the top             1 mm Greyed Purple 187A to 2 mm colored Orange 25A to 4 mm             Yellow Green 146B to White NN155A on bottom); corolla 5 mm             long and 1.5 mm wide, tubular, 5 lobed, glabrous, base             Greyed Purple 186B to middle Green 146A to lobes Greyed             Purple 187A; pistil 11 mm long, ovary 4 mm long, White             NN155D with top Yellow Green 144A, style 6 mm long Yellow             Green 145D, 2-branched stigma spreading 2 mm wide, Greyed             Purple 187A; stamen 4 mm long, filaments 2 mm long and White             NN155B, anthers 2 mm long and Greyed Purple 187A, pollen             Yellow Orange 15A.         -   Phyllaries.—In 4 leafy series, area grows to 25 mm wide and             10 mm deep, lobes lanceolate in shape, reflexed, grow to 12             mm long and 2 mm wide, Yellow Green 147B, margins strigose,             tip acute, strigose on both sides.         -   Receptacle.—Grows to 11 mm wide and 22 mm deep, White             NN155B.         -   Bloom period.—July through October in Canby, Oreg.         -   Fragrance.—Floral, sweet.         -   Lastingness.—Each inflorescence lasts about two weeks in             Canby, Oreg. -   Seeds: 3 mm long and 2.5 mm wide, oval, Brown 200C.     -   -   Fertility.—Good. -   Disease and pests: No pests or diseases have been observed on plants     grown under commercial conditions in Canby, Oreg. No resistances are     known. 

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct Echinacea plant as herein illustrated and described. 